Susan Breau, a program manager for MRWA, told the Dexter council late last week that MRWA is a private, nonprofit organization that helps rural water and wastewater systems provide safe drinking water and protect the environment at an affordable cost to users. She said the federally funded association is run by and for rural systems.

Breau said Dexter was selected for the help because the water intake on Lake Wassookeag is located close to the highway and boaters enter the lake nearby.

The help, she said, would bring stakeholders together to discuss and address their concerns. She said the process would include a review of the raw data on the quality of the lake, the development of a contingency plan and a source-water protection plan.

Several things affect water supply, such as runoff from impervious surfaces, trash, fishing, boating, erosion problems caused by development, and the use of land within the watershed. The watershed for Lake Wassookeag includes land in Ripley and Dexter, she said.

"The point is to try to be aware of how you may be impacting the lake," Breau said on Thursday.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Monday, March 14, 2005 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."